UK job growth outstrips EU and US

The UK job market is now healthier than those of the USA and EU, hartlepoolmail.co.uk reports.

According to recently published government figures, the UK employment rate now stands at 72 per cent, after a period of strong, sustained growth during recent months.

As a result, the UK’s employment rate is much healthier than the EU average, where figures are at just 64 per cent. In the US, meanwhile, the so-called “participation rate” was lower still, at 63 per cent.

These results align the UK more with the likes of Canada and Japan, where figures are nearer the 70 per cent mark.

There was also good news for women in the workforce, as figures for the UK noted around 14 million were in employment, or around two thirds of the applicable population. Across the wider EU, however, the figure dropped to 59 per cent.

Commenting on the results, employment minister Esther McVey told standard.co.uk: “With our employment rate growing faster than countries like Germany and the US, I believe the UK is now the place to be for the opportunity to get a job, work your way up and achieve your dreams.

“With the number of unemployed young people falling for the last six months and 1,000 more people in private sector jobs every day since 2010, the UK is clearly the country for people who want to work hard and get on.”